UN Mission In Mali Officially Ends After 10 Years
Mohammad Ali (@ChaudhryMAli88) Published December 11, 2023 | 04:00 PM
Bamako, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 11th Dec, 2023) The UN mission in Mali officially ended a 10-year deployment in the country on Monday, its spokesperson said, in a pullout ordered by Mali's military leaders.
The mission, known as MINUSMA, lowered the United Nations flag on its headquarters in the capital Bamako, its spokesperson Fatoumata Kaba told AFP.
The symbolic ceremony marks the official end of the mission, she said, even though some of the elements of it are still there.
A "liquidation phase" will take place after January 1, involving activities such as handing over remaining equipment to the authorities.
Mali's ruling junta, which seized power in 2020, in June demanded the departure of the mission, deployed since 2013, despite being in the grip of jihadism and raging crises.
The withdrawal of the UN stabilisation mission, known as MINUSMA, has ignited fears that fighting will intensify between troops and armed factions for territorial control.
MINUSMA had for the past decade maintained around 15,000 soldiers and police in Mali. About 180 members have been killed in hostile acts.
As of Friday, more than 10,500 uniformed and civilian MINUSMA personnel had left Mali, out of a total of around 13,800 staff at the start of the withdrawal, the UN mission said on X, formerly Twitter.
Since being told to leave, MINUSMA has so far left 13 positions in Mali, and has yet to close sites in Gao and Timbuktu in the north.
Last week, the UN mission handed over the Mopti camp in the centre of Mali, one of the hotbeds of jihadist violence that has plagued the Sahel region for years.
The Mopti camp most recently housed peacekeepers from Bangladesh and Togo, and in the past, hosted Egyptian, Pakistani and Senegalese contingents.
The pullout went smoothly, unlike recent withdrawals in Mali's volatile north which took place under fears of a military escalation between the army and rebel groups, Kaba told AFP.
Violence has swept the country while spilling over into neighbouring Burkina Faso and Niger -- inflaming ethnic tensions along the way.
After seizing power, Mali's junta ditched the country's alliance with former colonial power France, preferring rapprochement with Moscow.
Related Topics
Recent Stories
Wembanyama in France: NBA Spurs to play Pacers in Paris in January
Russian missile kills two in Ukraine's Odesa: governor
Dutch Embassy celebrates King Willem-Alexander's birthday
Need of concrete steps stressed for safe, nutritious milk availability
Scotland's leader Yousaf quits after a year
Services of GDA Pakistan China Friendship Hospital launched
Mining giants Vale, BHP propose $25 bn settlement over Brazil dam collapse
Georgia ruling party stages mass rally to counter protests
Bayern ready for 'extraordinary' Bellingham, says Tuchel
PTI leaders get interim bail
Tennis: ATP/WTA Madrid Open results - 2nd update
French actor Depardieu released after sexual assault questioning
More Stories From World
-
Gaza protesters defy Columbia deadline to leave campus
1 hour ago -
Russian missile kills two in Ukraine's Odesa: governor
2 hours ago -
Scotland's leader Yousaf quits after a year
2 hours ago -
Mining giants Vale, BHP propose $25 bn settlement over Brazil dam collapse
2 hours ago -
Georgia ruling party stages mass rally to counter protests
2 hours ago -
Bayern ready for 'extraordinary' Bellingham, says Tuchel
2 hours ago
-
French actor Depardieu released after sexual assault questioning
2 hours ago -
Children's shoes highlight Gaza's Khan Younis city exodus chaos: UN
2 hours ago -
Spain PM Sanchez walks back from resignation threat
2 hours ago -
Dozens killed as dam bursts in flood-hit Kenya
2 hours ago -
G7 reportedly agrees end date for coal-fired power plants
2 hours ago -
Forty-day ceasefire offered to Hamas: UK foreign secretary
3 hours ago